The SA Human Rights Commission said there is no evidence or data showing that foreign nationals are causing overcrowding at local hospitals, telling a virtual imbizo last week that data collected over three years from the Department of Health showed, in fact, that these numbers remained low, reports eNCA.
The meeting focused on concerns related to recent marches against undocumented migrants, but tempers frayed as several participants expressed strong anti-immigration sentiments to the Commission, which instead, had said documentation revealed cases of violence, displacement and threats to public safety, requiring an urgent, co-ordinated response.
Attendees criticised the body for failing to protect South African citizens effectively from immigration challenges, claiming the SAHRC was “ineffective”.
Speakers linked local protest actions to institutional negligence, and Briefly News reports that calls were made to dismantle the organisation completely.
One resident argued that civic operations like Operation Dudula exist because formal institutions neglect their duties. Others maintained that the Commission failed to represent citizen interests.
ENCA article – SAHRC: no evidence migrants are causing hospital overcrowding (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Activists deny migrants access to hospitals and clinics
Gauteng Health buckles under migrant patient overload
Activists back in court over Dudula bullying of migrants
Call for inquiry into ‘systemic healthcare xenophobia’ against migrants in SA